Alp Arslan

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Alp Arslan

Fictious portrait of Alp Arslan
Sultan of the Seljuq Empire
Reign 1063 1072
Predecessor Toghrul-Beg
Successor Malik-Shah I

Spouse Aka, widow of Toghrul I
Issue
Muizz ad-Din Malik-Shah I
Taj ad-Dawlah Tutush I
Izz ad-Din Arslan-Argun
Bori-Bars
Toghrul
Ayaz
Toghan-Shah
Arslan-Shah
Tekish
Princess Aisha
Princess Zuleikha Khatun
Full name
Laqab: Diya ad-Din (shortly), Adud ad-Dawlah
Kunya: Abu Shuja
Given name: Muhammad
Turkic nickname: Alp Arslan
Nasab: Alp Arslan ibn Chaghri-Beg ibn Mikailibn Seljuq ibn Duqaq
House House of Seljuq
Father Chaghri-Beg
Mother ?
Born 20 January 1029
[1]

Died 15 December 1072
Religion Sunni Islam
Alp Arslan (Persian: ; full name: Diya ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Adud ad-Dawlah Abu Shuja
Muhammad Alp Arslan ibn Dawud) (20 January 1029 15 December 1072) was the
second Sultan of the Seljuq Empire and great-grandson ofSeljuq, the eponymous founder of the
dynasty. His real name was Muhammad bin Dawud Chaghri, and for his military prowess,
personal valour, and fighting skills he obtained the name Alp Arslan, which means "Heroic
Lion"
[2]
in Turkish.
Contents
[hide]
1 Career
2 Byzantine struggle
3 State organization
4 Death
5 Legacy
6 References
7 Sources
Career[edit]
Alp Arslan succeeded his father ar Bey as governor of Khorasan in 1059. His
uncle Tughril died and was succeeded by Suleiman, Arslan's brother. Arslan and his
uncle Kutalmish both contested this succession. Arslan defeated Kutalmish for the throne and
succeeded on 27 April 1064 as sultan of Great Seljuq, thus becoming sole monarch ofPersia from
the river Oxus to the Tigris.
In consolidating his empire and subduing contending factions, Arslan was ably assisted by Nizam
al-Mulk, his vizier, and one of the most eminent statesmen in early Muslim history. With peace
and security established in his dominions, Arslan convoked an assembly of the states and
declared his son Malik Shah I his heir and successor. With the hope of capturing Caesarea
Mazaca, the capital of Cappadocia, he placed himself at the head of the Turkish cavalry, crossed
the Euphrates, and entered and invaded the city. Along with Nizam al-Mulk, he then marched
into Armenia and Georgia, which he conquered in 1064.
[3]

Byzantine struggle[edit]


Battle of Manzikert
En route to Syria in 1068, Alp Arslan Oush invaded the Byzantine Empire.
The Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes, assuming command in person, met the invaders in Cilicia.
In three arduous campaigns, the Turks were defeated in detail and driven across the Euphrates in
1070. The first two campaigns were conducted by the emperor himself, while the third was
directed by Manuel Comnenos, great-uncle of Emperor Manuel Comnenos.
In 1071 Romanos again took the field and advanced into Armenia with possibly 30,000 men,
including a contingent of Cuman Turks as well as contingents of Franks and Normans,
under Ursel de Baieul. At Manzikert, on the Murat River, north of Lake Van, Diogenes was met by
Alp Arslan. The sultan proposed terms of peace, which were rejected by the emperor, and the
two forces waged the Battle of Manzikert. The Cuman mercenaries among the Byzantine forces
immediately defected to the Turkish side. Seeing this, "the Western mercenaries rode off and
took no part in the battle."
[4]
To be exact, Romanos was betrayed by general Andronikos Doukas,
son of the Caesar (Romanos's stepson), who pronounced him dead and rode off with a large part
of the Byzantine forces at a critical moment.
[5]
The Byzantines were totally routed.
Emperor Romanos IV was himself taken prisoner and conducted into the presence of Alp Arslan.
After a ritual humiliation, Arslan treated him with generosity. After peace terms were agreed to,
Arslan dismissed the Emperor, loaded with presents and respectfully attended by a military
guard. The following conversation is said to have taken place after Romanos was brought as a
prisoner before the Sultan:
[6]



Alp Arslan humiliating Emperor Romanos IV after the Battle of Manzikert. From a 15th-century illustrated French
translation ofBoccacio's De Casibus Virorum Illustrium.
Alp Arslan: "What would you do if I was brought before you as a prisoner?"
Romanos: "Perhaps I'd kill you, or exhibit you in the streets of Constantinople."
Alp Arslan: "My punishment is far heavier. I forgive you, and set you free."
Alp Arslan's victories changed the balance in near Asia completely in favour of
the Seljuq Turks and Sunni Muslims. While the Byzantine Empire was to continue for
nearly four more centuries, and the Crusades would contest the issue for some time,
the victory at Manzikert signalled the beginning of Turkish ascendancy in Anatolia.
Most historians, includingEdward Gibbon, date the defeat at Manzikert as the
beginning of the end of the Eastern Roman Empire. Certainly the entry of Turkic
farmers following their horsemen ended the themes in Anatolia that had furnished the
Empire with men and treasure.
State organization[edit]
Alp Arslan's strength lay in the military realm. Domestic affairs were handled by his
able vizier, Nizam al-Mulk, the founder of the administrative organization that
characterized and strengthened the sultanate during the reigns of Alp Arslan and his
son, Malik Shah. Military fiefs, governed by Seljuq princes, were established to
provide support for the soldiery and to accommodate the nomadic Turks to the
established Anatolian agricultural scene. This type of military fiefdom enabled the
nomadic Turks to draw on the resources of the sedentary Persians, Turks, and other
established cultures within the Seljuq realm, and allowed Alp Arslan to field a huge
standing army without depending on tribute from conquest to pay his soldiers. He not
only had enough food from his subjects to maintain his military, but the taxes
collected from traders and merchants added to his coffers sufficiently to fund his
continuous wars.
According to the poet Saadi Shirazi:
Arslan possessed a fort, which raised at the height of Alwand, from all were
those within its walls, for its roads were a labyrinth, like the curls of a bride.
From a learned traveler Arslan once inquired: "Didst thou ever, in thy
wanderings, see a fort as strong as this?" "Splendid it is," was the travelers
reply, "but methinks not it confers much strength. Before thee, did not other
kings possess it for a while, then pass away? After thee, will not other kings
assume control, and eat the fruits of the tree of thy hope?"
In the estimation of the wise, the world is a false gem that passes each
moment from one hand to another. (the fort was sacked by the Mongols led
byHulagu).
Suleiman ibn Kutalmish was the son of the contender for Arslan's throne; he was
appointed governor of the north-western provinces and assigned to completing the
invasion of Anatolia. An explanation for this choice can only be conjectured from Ibn
al-Athirs account of the battle between Alp-Arslan and Kutalmish, in which he writes
that Alp-Arslan wept for the latter's death and greatly mourned the loss of his
kinsman.
Death[edit]
After Manzikert, the dominion of Alp Arslan extended over much of western Asia. He
soon prepared to march for the conquest of Turkestan, the original seat of his
ancestors. With a powerful army he advanced to the banks of the Oxus. Before he
could pass the river with safety, however, it was necessary to subdue certain
fortresses, one of which was for several days vigorously defended by the
governor, Yussuf el-Harezmi, a Khwarezmian. He was obliged to surrender,
however, and was carried as a prisoner before the sultan, who condemned him to
death. Yussuf, in desperation, drew his dagger and rushed upon the sultan. Alp
Arslan, who took great pride in his reputation as the foremost archer of his time,
motioned to his guards not to interfere. He drew his bow, but his foot slipped, the
arrow glanced aside, and he received the assassin's dagger in his breast. Alp Arslan
died from this wound four days later, on 25 November 1072, in his 42nd year, and he
was taken toMerv to be buried next to his father, Chaghri Beg. Upon his tomb lies the
following inscription:
O those who saw the sky-high grandeur of Alp Arslan, behold! He is under the black soil
now...
As he lay dying, Alp Arslan whispered to his son that his vanity had killed him.
"Alas," he is recorded to have said, "surrounded by great warriors devoted to my
cause, guarded night and day by them, I should have allowed them to do their
job. I had been warned against trying to protect myself, and against letting my
courage get in the way of my good sense. I forgot those warnings, and here I lie,
dying in agony. Remember well the lessons learned, and do not allow your vanity
to overreach your good sense..."
[citation needed]

Legacy[edit]
Alp Arslan's conquest of Anatolia from the Byzantines is also seen as one of the
pivotal precursors to the launch of the crusades.
From 2002 to July 2008 under Turkmen calendar reform, the month of August
was named after Alp Arslan.
Alp Arslan
House of Seljuq
Born: 20 January 1029 Died: 15 December 1072
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Toghrul-Beg
Sultan of the Seljuq Empire
1063-1072
Succeeded by
Malik-Shah I























Alp-Arslan
Izvor: Wikipedia


Bitka kod Mancikerta
Alp Arslan je bio sultan Selduke Monarhije (1063. 1072.) i neak Tugrula (1037 1063).
Vladao je prostorima dananjeg Irana, Iraka, Sirije i delovima Turske. Pobedom nad vizantijskom
vojskom u bici kod Mancikerta 1071. godine, gurnuo je Vizantiju u novu rundu graanskog rata,
nakon ega je otpoela ekspanziju Turaka u Malu Aziju, koji e za nepunu deceniju ovladati
gotovo celokupnim poluostrvom, zauzevi Nikeju (1081) i izbivi na sam Bosfor.
Sadraj/
[sakrij/]
1 ivot i vladavina
2 Veze
3 Reference
4 Literatura
ivot i vladavina[uredi - ]
Arslan je roen oko 1030. godine, a 1063. godine postaje sultan Selduka, koji uz njegovu
preutnu dozvolu poinju da upadaju u pogranine vizantijske oblasti i pljakaju ih. Ve 1064.
godine zauzima grad Ani u Jermeniji, to biva propraeno velikim masakrom lokalnog
stanovnitva
[1]
, a 1067. godine i Cezareju
[2]
. Vizantijski car Roman IV Diogen(1068 1071) je
pokrenuo nekoliko vojnih kampanja protiv Selduka u pokuaju da ih suzbije iz istonih delova
Vizantije. Oni su se zavrili bez vee vojne pobede, poto su Selduki odredi izbegavali direktnu
borbu sa Vizantincima, ali je 1070. godine uspeo da sklopi mirovni ugovor sa Arslanom oko
obustave pljakakih upada.
Koristei se mirom sa Vizantijom, Arslan je 1071. godine sa vojskom krenuo u napad na Alepu,
meutim tokom pohoda je dobio izvetaj da se Roman na elu velike vojske uputio
ka Mancikertu, koji je ubrzo zauzeo. Selduki sultan je nakon toga obustavio dalje napredovanje
i brzo se uputio ka centralnoj Anadoliji i jezeru Van. U njegovoj blizini, dolo je do bitke izmeu
Selduka i vizantijske vojske. Arslanove snage su odnele pobedu na Vizantincima i zarobile
samog Romana.
Samu bitku je presudio vei broj faktora. Od deljenja vizantijske vojske na dva dela neposredno
pred bitku, tako da se samo jedan njen deo sukobio sa Selducima, preko prelaska
dela plaenika Uza na Selduku stranu tokom same bitke, do izdaje jednog vizantijskih
zapovednika. Andronik Duka, koji je bio Romanov politikiprotivnik, komandovao je rezervom i u
kljunom trenutku je odbio da zatiti pozadinu vizantijskom centru, ve se povukao iz bitke, irei
dezinformacije da je sam Roman poginuo
[1]
. Brzi selduki konjanici su nakon toga sa lakoom
opkolili vizantijski centar i unitili njegovo desno krilo, dok su delovi levog uspeli da se probiju iz
obrua. Dodatni faktor u samoj bici, bila je i selduka taktika izbegavanja direktnog sukoba sa
teko oklopljenom peadijom i konjicom Vizantinaca. Umesto toga, brzi selduki konjanici su
stalno napadali Vizantince i uzmicali pred njima, pokuavajui da poremete njihovu disciplinu i
razjedine im redove.
Arslan je nakon bitke Romana primio sa odgovarajuim poastima i sklopio mir sa njim. Meutim,
usled poraza kod Mancikerta, u Carigradu je dolo do prevrata i nove borbe oko vlasti u kojoj je
Roman poraen i praktino ubijen, poto je od posledica oslepljivanja (29. 6. 1072.) vrlo brzo
umro (4. 8. 1072.). Sam Arslan je nakon Romanove smrti nastavio da potuje mir koji je sa njim
sklopio, ali se zato lokalni emiri nisu oseali obaveznima da potuju odredbe mira
[2]
i otpoeli sa
upadima u Vizantiju.
Sam Arlsan je 15. 12. iste godine umro u Horezmu, a nasledio ga je sin Malik-ah I (1072.
1092.).